


The World of Fiction

by Myhoniahaka



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15547041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myhoniahaka/pseuds/Myhoniahaka
Summary: Sasuke was the author of a book that had yet to be published. After one of the major plot points, Naruto, the main character, finds himself in Sasuke's bedroom. Oneshot.





	The World of Fiction

Awari had been with Naruto since the day the village turned to ash. He was Naruto's best friend, and no matter what happened, whether it be the king's wrath or assassination attempts, Awari never left. Yet here they were now. Guards stood stiff and tense around them, circling them, and Awari's body lay limp in Naruto's arms.

Those pink lips, which Naruto had kissed like a madman, were now blue and purple. The skin that was as pallor as the moon was now a sickly white, paler than Naruto thought possible. The breath that had kept Awari living was no longer, and the thumps of a pulse was dead.

Awari was dead.

The bodies of so many from the rebellion lay dead on the ground. Twisted limbs were sprawled in a pool of blood. The grass was no longer the rich green it once was, but now black from the depths of red.

Awari's blood seeped onto Naruto arms, but he paid it no mind. Always and forever. That's what Awari said about their friendship. Always and forever. Because that's what they were. Hyuna had torn them apart and stalked Awari to the ends of the earth, but no matter what happened, even as the king tried to kill Naruto, they were always together.

Always and forever. Always and forever.

It was a lie.

Naruto lurched, feeling the guards pry their fingers on his body, dragging him away. He fought them as he always did. But there was no force to it. Awari had been the backup when Naruto was weak, and now he was gone, and Naruto was as lost as he'd been after his parent's death.

"You killed him." Naruto said. Strangled tears flowed down his face, voice breaking with the strength of the hole inside his chest. There was no identifying the killer with the masks the guards wore. But the king was at fault. That king who had torn apart Naruto's village, who had taken his parents, and now took Awari.

He'd kill them all.

With a strangled scream, Naruto lurched at the guards, biting back the tears that burned his eyes. But as he felt the wrangled hands tie his wrists together, he knew he had lost. And what was the point of moving forward? Awari was gone, and no one was there to help him now. Even Hyuna, who had once been a dear friend, was now a mere stalker in the face of the world.

Awari was going to kill Hyuna.

It would be an impossible feat now.

He let himself be taken, because Awari's death was the final blow. The king had taken everything from him. His parents, his village, and now his best friend.

They never got to talk about the more intimate part of their relationship.

He felt the world crumble below him. He supposed he could summon the rage from losing everything, but he had done that so many times now, and was far too tired for another fight. Sometimes he thought of giving up, and when he did, Awari told him why he shouldn't. But Awari was gone now, and there was no one to tell him to keep going.

And it was as they tore at his clothes and bruised his skin that Naruto felt them fading away. Their grip on his arms weakened, and when he looked into the dark masks, he saw that the people surrounded him were translucent.

And then he was somewhere else. No longer was there blood as dark as night or masks that tore through his soul. The guards were gone. Awari's body was gone, and the world which Naruto had known was no more.

Instead, he found himself in a bedroom. One that was far more furnished than the one his parents provided so long ago.

"Who the hell are you?" Someone sat in the corner, black eyes roving over Naruto's bloody and damaged body. The guy's skin was pale, and hair as black as midnight.

If it weren't for those sharp cheekbones, Naruto would have thought he was Awari.

"Naruto. Where am I?" He said.

"In my bedroom. You look exactly like my character."

Naruto's shoulders sagged. It seemed safe enough where he was, but any second the guards would barge through the wooden door and take him. Maybe they already had. Maybe Naruto was dreaming now. They were in the process of taking him when Naruto had landed somewhere so safe. Maybe even in the unconscious mind, Naruto wanted safety more than anything else.

"And you look like Amari. Except for the cheekbones. Amari's cheeks are chubby, not pointed."

Naruto wiped his eyes. The tears he had to shed had long since passed, and now his eyes were dry. There was so much unsaid between him and Amari, so much they couldn't say now, that Naruto felt only exhaustion. He had mourned so many people in the short time since his villages downfall, and now he had nothing left to mourn. Awari's death was one that would hit him later, he knew, but for now, he was satisfied to feel nothing.

"The name's Sasuke. And I'm going crazy, aren't I? There is no way you're here right now."

"I don't know. Amari's dead. The guards caught me. Maybe I'm unconscious. Dreams can be pretty crazy, right?" Naruto said.

"Not unless I'm dreaming. Your last name's Namikaze, right? Not Uzumaki like everyone believes."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. His father had worked for the king once upon a time, and even worked his way up to a noble title. It was only after meeting Naruto's mom that his dad left the palace and moved into a small village, leaving his noble title behind. The king had been enraged, and now was hell-bent on ending the last of the bloodline that could overthrow him.

"How do you know that?" Naruto said.

Only the king knew Naruto's bloodline.

"You're my character. From the book. Holy shit. I thought all those writers were crazy, but characters actually do come to life."

"What?"

"It happens when trauma is at it's peak. Like Amari's death. The character can't take it anymore, and they retreat into the real world. No one knows how it's possible, and no one but the writer can see their character."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're not real."

"That makes no sense. I'm as real as everyone else."

Sasuke moved over to sit by Naruto. His eyes were alight with excitement. Naruto squirmed, feeling uncomfortable under this guy's scrutiny. Who did he think he was? Calling Naruto fake? Naruto had been through hell. He had seen death and was fighting every step of the way. His life was real. His person was real. How could anyone say otherwise?

"But you're not. You're a character in my book. The main character. I made you. I made Amari. Hyuna. Everyone."

"If that's true, why did you kill Amari?"

He didn't believe Sasuke. Naruto's life, which while difficult and overbearing at times, was as real as any other life. It felt real, and that was all he needed to know that he too, was real.

No one could make him believe otherwise.

But if Sasuke was so certain, then he would have been in charge of Awari's death, and Naruto needed a reason why anyone would murder like that.

"You needed to learn humility." Sasuke said.

Sasuke was working for the king. That was the only answer to this situation.

"Why make Hyuna betray us?"

They wanted him to believe he was safe.

"Dramatic affect and character development. Betrayal is one of the most emotional roller-coasters to put characters through. Readers eat it up."

They wanted him to be off guard.

"And my parents?"

They wanted him weak.

"Convenience. Most writers kill off the parents or have some excuse not to put them in the story. Family, especially parents, can be really inconvenient."

"Family is important." Naruto said.

"Maybe for some genre's. Not mine though."

"You're horrible."

"I'm a writer. It's my job to put my characters through absolute hell."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, saw the resemblance he and Awari shared, and wanted to cry again. But there were survivors to take care of. That rebellion had ended badly. Hyuna had betrayed them, but there were survivors to every massacre, and he needed to find them.

They deserved the freedom Naruto never had.

What if Naruto  _was_ the survivor?

"Then writer's suck. If what you say is true, then you need to get your butt back on the chair and rewrite the entire story. Make my life happier. Keep my parents alive. Don't let Hyuna betray us. And don't, under any circumstances, kill Amari."

Somewhere in the room was evidence that Sasuke worked for the king. Amari was a master manipulator, and Naruto had seen him play people so often that he could mimic it. He needed to find Sasuke's weakness, exploit his treacherous ways, and kill until he found the king.

But then Sasuke laughed, and the smile was the same as Amari's.

"Get my  _butt_ in the chair? I knew there was a reason I never let you swear. It would sound so much more threatening if you said ass, but you promised your mum you'd never curse. I always thought that was sweet. Honoring her memory like that. My beta-readers love it too."

"Only Amari knew that. Has the king been watching me longer than mum and dad's death?" Naruto said.

Manipulation had never been his strong suite. Hyuna made sure to let Naruto know that.

Perhaps, however unlikely as it was, Sasuke would expose himself if Naruto simply asked.

Sasuke intertwined his hand in Naruto's, his smile dropping into a frown. Naruto let himself sink into the similarities of Sasuke and Amari. Maybe this was Amari in disguise. Maybe Naruto had been trapped in a dungeon for years and now Amari's face was sharper than ever.

Maybe, just maybe, Amari never died.

"I'm sorry about killing him, Naruto. But some characters just need to die."

"They don't, actually. Amari deserves better."

"All characters do. I don't think you'll ever understand why I do this."

Naruto's life was not the fantasy Sasuke said it was, but Naruto was happy to pretend it was. That way, Amari's death could be reversed. He could make Sasuke feel the suffering Naruto felt and have him rewrite the scene where everything went downhill.

Sasuke could reverse Naruto's failure into a success.

"Is there a happy ending?" He asked.

"You become king." Sasuke said.

And Naruto sunk into that fantasy, because if he didn't, then all he could do was suffer.

And he was so tired of suffering.


End file.
